Officer of the Year: Glenn Mitchell

June 26, 2010 | Story by: Hal Goodtree | Categories: News

Info for this series from Randy Byrd, Cary PBA Chapter President.

Cary, NC -  Finishing our series of Cary Police stories, we profile Officer Glenn Mitchell, recently named the George Almond “Officer of the Year” by the Cary PBA. Glenn is assigned as the School Resource Officer at Green Hope High School and was nominated by his peer and fellow school resource officer Myron Guthrie. Here is his story.

Officer Guthrie highlighted several areas that distinguished Officer Mitchell in his nomination.

A Cop Kids Trust

Officer Guthrie began by praising Glenn as a valued member of the Green Hope High School Staff.  In his nomination, he offered comments from Green Hope Assistant Principal Michelle Burton who works with Officer Mitchell on a daily basis.  Ms. Burton said this:

“Officer Glen Mitchell has been working at Green Hope High School since 2008.  He is truly an asset to the Green Hope Community.  Officer Mitchell works diligently to build relationships with the administration, teachers and staff, parents and most of all students.  He works with all stakeholders to ensure a safe and orderly environment at all times.  Students seek out Officer Mitchell because of his strong presence in the school and his calm demeanor. Officer Mitchell attends a variety of school functions/activities outside of his normal job responsibilities because he is an invested member of the Green Hope community.  He is always in classrooms doing presentations and teaching lessons on specific topics dealing with the law.”

Town Youth Programs

In continuing his nomination, Officer Guthrie noted that in addition to his law enforcement duties, Glenn assists Cindi King with youth programs that  include character education and leadership building, respect and discipline improvement and at-risk intervention. These programs assist teenagers with becoming responsible and productive members of our community and future community leaders.

A Man of Faith

In addition to serving his community as a law enforcement officer and youth leader, Glenn is very active member of his church.

Glenn is a member of the Northpark Church and serves God and others with all his heart.  His desire to serve has led him to serve in several roles throughout his church to include the Men’s ministry program.

Glenn sees and understands the hardships men experience as fathers, husbands, friends etc. and the challenges men experience (i.e. parenting, communicating with a spouse, depression, stress, fidelity etc.).  Through this ministry he works with other men to help form trusting relationships not only with God, but with one another.   Glenn uses this ministry to help others who may be struggling and may not trust or have anyone to open up to.

Supporting Interact

Glenn looks for ways to use his church to assist his community. This past summer Glenn led a team of college students and adults during the church’s annual “servolution”. This is a day in which his church gives back to the community.

Glenn led his group to the Interact Facility, where they were “Lawn care Professionals” for the day.  Interact is an organization that provides services to victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.  Interact does not have a budget which provides for regular lawn care and upkeep so on a hot summer day, Glenn and his team tackled a neglected and overrun facility by pulling weeds, pulling dead bushes, trimming grass, watering plants, raking leaves, and spreading mulch all along the landscape. This was hot tedious work, but at the end of the day the facility was clean and the team made a difference.

A Community Leader

In closing his nomination, Officer Guthrie offered these final comments about his friend Glenn,  “I can only say Glenn has the attributes of a true community leader and I can think of no one more deserving of this nomination.”

When Officer Mitchell was asked to describe what this award and George Almond’s legacy means to him he offered these thoughts.

“I am very thankful to work with so many great people within such a great agency.  One of the people that I met in my time with the police department is the person that we are celebrating tonight.  I had the great pleasure of knowing and working with George while he was here at the Cary Police department.  George is a leader, a fighter, and a great man of faith who will tell you why he is still with us here tonight.  So to be named as a finalist for an award that bears the name of George Almond, is truly a great honor, and one that I am humbled by.”

Bio

Glenn Mitchell was born in Raleigh and grew up in Youngsville.

He graduated from Bunn High School in 1991 and received his Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from East Carolina University in 1995.  Glenn started his career with the Raleigh police department before coming to the Cary Police department in 2000.  He is currently assigned as School Resource Officer at Green Hope High School.

Glenn was a finalist for the 2005 ASIS Officer of the Year award and was also named as a finalist for the 2007 “George Almond” Officer of the Year award.

Glenn is married with two children.

All the Finalists

Read all the stories in the Cary Police series, profiles of everyday officers working hard in our town.Thanks again to Cary PBA chapter President Randy Byrd for this content.

Photos in this series have been by Tim Reichert and Dean Smith, used with permission of the Cary PBA.